Colleen O'Connor July 7, 2021 | 08:15:20
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6 Things PR Agencies Should Never Say

PR agency teams, like all creative services people, love to keep our clients happy. That’s a good thing, except where the drive to please leads us to say things we shouldn’t. Who here hasn’t uttered something on an update call or dashed off something in an email and then thought better of it? 

I don’t mean careless wordplay, but rather promises or commitments that we likely can’t keep. Here are some of those phrases that should be erased from a PR specialist’s vocabulary. 

We can definitely generate XX earned media placements

Nothing in this world is for sure, and we shouldn’t treat media interviews and articles as such. In PR, we of course want to get as many quality stories as possible, and we typically have a good idea of what will result when we’re managing a news announcement, for example. But playing the numbers game isn’t a good idea. In the first place, quality usually beats quantity when it comes to earned media. Then there’s the risk of being misinterpreted by clients. It’s better to suggest that the team has a goal of a certain number of placements or interviews, but never guarantee anything!  

We have a relationship with them so it’s a done deal

PR is all about building connections, especially with media. At Crenshaw, we work hard to create those bonds with journalists. In a pre-pandemic world, we would socialize over happy hours and karaoke. Why bother? To put a face to our emails. To build trust, and to encourage a response to a solid pitch, even if the answer is no. The truth about media relationships is that they’re most valuable in generating a fast answer, not a guarantee of coverage. 

I don’t see the news hook in this announcement

Is every announcement a NYT A1 story? No. But a reflexive objection about news value isn’t a good response to a client announcement. While news comes in all shapes and sizes from acquisitions to product updates to personnel moves, there is always some way to make little news into a splash. A great example was a French company we worked with that was launching their competitive pricing tool in the US market. This was not new technology and the name was virtually unknown in the States. We recognized that the launch alone was not going to make much of a splash, so we created a survey around retailers and their fear of being outpriced by Amazon. The data was the perfect companion to the launch story! While most news isn’t always flashy, adding new elements can secure media attention.

You should see the ROI on this immediately

Wow! Really? Immediately?! Tell me, what is your secret! This one is hard because it’s natural for marketing or sales teams to look for a guarantee on lead-generation or conversion. PR and sales are not the same thing, however. If a company thinks all PR efforts will directly lead to sales, it may be time to explain the difference. Through tools like SEO and lead-gen tactics, PR pros can help move the needle by making sure company messaging is aligned to increase visibility. The ROI may not happen overnight. 

Do you have any news for us to pitch?

If you hear this from a PR person – run away. Of course there are plenty of times when companies do not have any major announcements, but this doesn’t mean we sit back and wait for hard news to fall into our laps. The best PR specialists know how to use creative tactics, research, and data to create newsworthy stories. Growth milestones, new research, founder stories, newsjacking — all present opportunities for exposure. Never ask an executive if they have anything for us to pitch. We should be approaching them with new ideas on engaging media. 

PR is about getting hits

While a big part of what our clients ask of us is generating media coverage, what any agency team does will go way beyond that. PR is about brand reputation and helping companies become industry leaders in their space. How do PR pros do this? Thought leadership in the form of bylines, webinars, speaking engagements at conferences, and award submissions are a few common elements of a PR plan. It pays to think beyond only media interviews and coverage. 

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